JP2008289786A - Image display device, game machine, image display method, image display program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image display device which can display optional background images at the periphery of the window displayed image with a rather simple device construction. <P>SOLUTION: The image display device 4 is equipped with a display means 41, a CGROM 42, a GPU 43, a scaler 45 and a control means 47. The control means 47 is equipped with a background image transmission section 471 which generates the GPU 43 the whole screen background image from the whole screen background image data stored in the CGROM 42 and transmits the whole screen image to the scaler 45, a window display image transmission section 472 which generates the GPU 43 the window display image based on the window display image data stored in the CGROM 42 and transmits the window display image to the scaler 45, and a display control section 473 which makes the scaler 45 to output the composite image of the background image and the window display image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device, a game machine, an image display method, an image display program, and a recording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a game machine such as a pachinko machine is known that includes an image display device that displays an image of a predetermined effect pattern (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
An image display device described in Patent Document 1 generates display based on image data stored in CGROM (Character Generator Read Only Memory) that stores display image data, CGROM that displays image data. A VDP (Video Display Processor) and a display buffer for virtually drawing an image generated by the VDP are provided. The VDP outputs an image signal based on the image drawn in the display buffer to the display unit, and the display unit displays an image based on the image signal.

  When the resolution of the image drawn in the display buffer is different from the resolution of the display area in the display means, the image signal output from the VDP is input to a device called a scaler that adjusts the resolution. The scaler adjusts the resolution of the image related to the image signal output from the VDP to the same resolution as the resolution of the display area in the display unit, and outputs an image signal based on the image whose resolution has been adjusted to the display unit.

JP 2006-167092 A

By the way, in an image display apparatus, a display method for displaying an image in a window in a part of a display area in a display means is known. In such a case, the above-described scaler generates an image having the same resolution as that of the display area in the display unit by using the outer periphery of the window display image as a single color image, and outputs an image signal based on the generated image to the display unit. To do.
However, if the outer periphery of the window display image is a single color image, there is a problem that an image of an attractive production pattern cannot be displayed on the display means, and the production effect by the displayed image is reduced. For this reason, there has been a demand for displaying an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of the window display image.

Here, in order to display an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of the window display image, for example, two image generation devices such as the above-mentioned VDP and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and a scaler having two systems of inputs are provided. A configuration of an image display device provided is conceivable. That is, a window display image is generated by one image generation device, and a background image is generated by the other image generation device. Then, an image signal based on these images is output to the scaler, and each image is synthesized by the scaler. According to such a configuration, an arbitrary background image can be displayed on the outer periphery of the window display image.
However, in such a configuration, since a scaler having two image generation devices and two inputs is provided, there is a problem in that the configuration becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost of the image display apparatus increases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive image display device, game machine, image display method, image display program, and recording medium capable of displaying an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of a window display image with a simple configuration. It is in.

  An image display apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays an image, an image data storage unit that stores image data for display, and an image generation unit that generates an image based on the image data stored in the image data storage unit. And a drawing storage unit that virtually draws and stores the image generated by the image generation unit, and adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the drawing storage unit to the display unit An image display device comprising: a resolution adjusting means for outputting; and a control means for controlling the image generating means and the resolution adjusting means. The image data storage means displays a background image in a display area of the display means. Background image data to be displayed and window display image data to display an image in a part of the display area are stored, and the control means stores the background image data. A background image based on the image generation unit, a background image transfer unit that transfers the background image to the resolution adjustment unit, and a window display image based on the window display image data is generated by the image generation unit. A window display image transfer unit that transfers the window display image to the resolution adjustment unit; and a display control unit that controls the output of the image stored in the drawing storage unit by the resolution adjustment unit. To do.

According to such a configuration, since the control means includes the background image transfer unit, the window display image transfer unit, and the display control unit, the image signal based on the background image and the image signal based on the window display image are obtained. It can be divided in time and output separately to the resolution adjusting means. Then, the background image and window display image transferred by the background image transfer unit and window display image transfer unit are overwritten and stored in the drawing storage unit of the resolution adjusting means. That is, the background image and the window display image are synthesized and stored in the drawing storage unit.
Therefore, the image display apparatus displays an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of the window display image with a simple configuration including one image generation unit (image generation device) and a resolution adjustment unit (scaler) having one system of input. be able to.

  In the present invention, the background image transfer unit causes the image generation unit to generate an overall background image having a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the entire display area of the display unit, and causes the resolution adjustment unit to transfer the entire background image. It is preferable.

The above-described image generation devices such as the VDP and the GPU and the scaler each output an image signal according to a predetermined dot clock (operation clock). The refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device and the scaler changes according to the dot clock and the resolution of the image.
Here, it is necessary to design the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device and the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler to be the same. This is because the scaler cannot output a normal image signal to the display means when the refresh rates of the images related to the image signal output from the image generation device and the scaler are different.

Specifically, for example, when the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device is faster than the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler, the scaler displays one frame on the display means. Since the image signal related to the image data for one new frame is output from the image generation device before the image signal related to the image data corresponding to the image data is output, the scaler outputs the normal image signal to the display means. I can't.
In addition, for example, when the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device is slower than the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler, the scaler displays one frame on the display means. When the image signal related to the image data is output, the image signal related to the image data for one frame is not output from the image generation device, so the scaler cannot output a normal image signal to the display means.
In addition, a display means will display a disordered image, when displaying the image based on the abnormal image signal output from a scaler in a display area.

  Therefore, for example, when outputting an image signal based on a window display image using the dot clock of the image generation device, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device and the refresh of the image output from the scaler If the image generation device outputs an image signal based on a background image having a resolution higher than that of the window display image, the image refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device is Become slow. That is, when the background image is transferred by the background image transfer unit in the present invention, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the image generation device and the scaler is different, so the display means displays the disordered image. Will be displayed.

However, according to the present invention, the background image transfer unit generates an overall background image having a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit, and therefore causes the resolution adjustment unit to collectively transfer the entire background image. be able to. Then, after the entire background image is transferred by the background image transfer unit, the window display image is transferred. Therefore, for example, when the entire background image is transferred by the background image transfer unit, if the image signal output from the scaler is stopped, the display means displays only a normal image without displaying a distorted image. Can be displayed.
Note that the entire background image is generated at a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit. For example, when the resolution is enlarged and adjusted twice by the scaler, the entire display area in the display unit is displayed. An overall background image having a resolution ½ times the resolution is generated.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the background image transfer unit causes the image generation unit to generate a divided background image obtained by dividing the background image and to transfer the divided background image to the resolution adjustment unit.
Here, in order to cause the image generation unit to generate the divided background image, for example, the divided background image data divided into a plurality of parts is stored in advance in the image data storage unit, and the divided background based on the divided background image data is stored. An image may be generated. Also, for example, the divided background image may be generated by dividing the background image data stored in the image data storage unit into a plurality of parts and taking it in.

  According to such a configuration, for example, if the divided background image data divided into a plurality of parts is stored in advance in the image data storage means, large undivided background image data is stored. Compared to the case, the storage area of the image data storage means can be used effectively. That is, when storing large background image data in the storage area of the image data storage means, a continuous large storage area is required, but when storing divided image data, the continuous storage area is small. Therefore, the storage area of the image data storage means can be used effectively.

  Further, for example, if the image generation unit generates the divided background image by dividing the background image data stored in the image data storage unit into a plurality of parts and fetching it, the image generation unit is stored in the display buffer. The storage area to be secured can be reduced. Specifically, the image generation means reserves a storage area corresponding to the resolution of the image to be generated in the display buffer, and virtually draws the generated image in the reserved storage area. For example, when a storage area corresponding to the resolution of the window display image is secured in the display buffer, the image generation unit cannot virtually draw a background image having a resolution larger than that of the window display image in the secured storage area. . However, if the divided image is generated by dividing the background image data into a plurality of parts according to the reserved storage area and generating the divided background image, the image generation unit virtually draws the divided background image in the reserved storage area. be able to. Therefore, the image generation means can reduce the storage area secured in the display buffer, and can effectively use the storage area of the display buffer.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the display control unit causes the resolution adjustment unit to stop outputting the image stored in the drawing storage unit when the background image is transferred by the image generation unit.
According to such a configuration, the display control unit causes the resolution adjusting unit to stop outputting the image stored in the drawing storage unit when the background image is transferred by the background image transfer unit. Can display only normal images without displaying distorted images.

A gaming machine according to the present invention includes the above-described image display device.
According to such a configuration, the same operational effects as those of the image display device described above can be achieved.

  The image display method of the present invention includes a display means for displaying an image, an image data storage means for storing image data for display, and an image generation means for generating an image based on the image data stored in the image data storage means. And a drawing storage unit that virtually draws and stores the image generated by the image generation unit, and adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the drawing storage unit to the display unit An image display method for use in an image display device comprising: a resolution adjustment means for outputting; and a control means for controlling the image generation means and the resolution adjustment means, wherein the control means has a background in a display area of the display means. A background image transfer step of generating a background image based on background image data for displaying an image and transferring the background image to the resolution adjusting means; and the display Generating a window display image based on window display image data for displaying an image in a part of the area, and transferring the window display image to the resolution adjusting means; and the resolution adjusting means by the resolution adjusting means And a display control step for controlling output of an image stored in the drawing storage unit.

  According to such a configuration, the same operational effects as those of the image display device described above can be achieved.

  An image display program according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays an image, an image data storage unit that stores image data for display, and an image generation unit that generates an image based on the image data stored in the image data storage unit. And a drawing storage unit that virtually draws and stores the image generated by the image generation unit, and adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the drawing storage unit to the display unit An image display program for use in an image display device comprising a resolution adjustment means for output, and a control means for controlling the image generation means and the resolution adjustment means for displaying a background image in a display area of the display means A background image transfer step for causing the image generation means to generate a background image based on background image data and transferring the background image to the resolution adjustment means. Window display image transfer for causing the image generation means to generate a window display image based on window display image data and for transferring the window display image to the resolution adjustment means in order to display an image in a part of the display area. And a display control step for controlling output of an image stored in the drawing storage unit by the resolution adjusting unit.

The recording medium of the present invention is characterized in that the above-described image display program is recorded in a computer readable manner.
According to such a configuration, the same operational effects as those of the image display device described above can be achieved.

[First Embodiment]
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Schematic configuration of pachinko machine]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the pachinko machine 1.
The pachinko machine 1 as a gaming machine launches a game ball on the game board by a player's operation, and when the launched game ball wins a winning opening provided on the game board, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out. It is something to be issued. As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko machine 1 includes a game mechanism 2, a main control device 3, and an image display device 4.

The game mechanism 2 includes a game board 21, a ball launching mechanism 22, and a payout device 23.
Although not shown, the game board 21 is provided with a plurality of nails, windmills, and the like for guiding the game ball to the game surface (player side surface), and when the game ball wins, the main control device 3 performs a lottery process. Are provided at predetermined positions, such as a start chucker 211 for executing the game, and a prize winning opening (attacker) 212 opened when the lottery process of the main control device 3 is won. Note that an opening is formed in the game surface, and a display area in the display means 41 described later constituting the image display device 4 is exposed from the opening.

The ball launching mechanism 22 launches a game ball onto the game board 21. For example, a handle that can be rotated and a motor that launches the game ball onto the game board 21 with a force corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle. Etc.
The payout device 23 pays out a predetermined number of game balls when a game ball wins a winning opening such as the start chuck 211 or the big winning opening 212.

  The main controller 3 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and controls the entire pachinko machine 1 in addition to performing the lottery process described above. Further, the main control device 3 outputs a control command corresponding to the result of the lottery process to the image display device 4, and causes the image display device 4 to display an animation of an effect pattern corresponding to the result of the lottery process. At this time, by outputting a predetermined control command to the image display device 4, the display of animation or the like of the effect pattern is used as a window display image, and an image display process for displaying an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of the window display image is performed. Can be made. The image display process will be described later in detail.

The image display device 4 displays an animation or the like of a predetermined effect pattern in response to a control command from the main control device 3, and includes a display means 41, a CGROM 42, a GPU 43, a display buffer 44, and a scaler 45. And a frame buffer 46 and a control means 47.
The display unit 41 includes a liquid crystal panel and a backlight, and displays an image based on the image signal output from the scaler 45 in a predetermined display area. Further, since the display area in the display means 41 is exposed from the opening in the game surface of the game board 21, the player of the pachinko machine 1 displays the image displayed in the display area in the display means 41 in the opening of the game board 21. Can be seen through. In the present embodiment, the resolution of the display area in the display unit 41 is 1280 × 960 (horizontal 1280 pixels × vertical 960 lines).
Moreover, the display means 41 is not limited to a configuration including a liquid crystal panel and a backlight, but may be configured to include an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) element or the like, for example.

  The CGROM 42 serving as image data storage means stores image data for display. The entire background image data for displaying the entire background image having the same resolution as the resolution of the entire display area in the display means 41, and the display means. 41, window display image data for displaying an image in a window is stored in a part of the display area. Note that the window display image data includes, for example, character image data such as characters and pictures, still image data combined with these character image data, and the like.

The GPU 43 serving as an image forming unit generates an image based on the image data stored in the CGROM 42 and outputs an image signal based on the generated image to the scaler 45. Specifically, the GPU 43 generates an image for one frame based on the image data stored in the CGROM 42 under the control of the control unit 47, and stores the generated image by virtually drawing it in the display buffer 44. Let The display buffer 44 virtually stores an image generated by the GPU 43, and the GPU 43 outputs an image signal based on the image stored in the display buffer 44 to the scaler 45.
The GPU 43 includes a crystal resonator (not shown), and outputs an image signal according to a dot clock based on the output of the crystal resonator. In the present embodiment, the dot clock of the GPU 43 is approximately 37 MHz. The refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is determined by the dot clock and the horizontal and vertical periods of the image signal.

Here, the horizontal period includes an output period of an image signal based on image data for one line of pixels in the horizontal direction, and a horizontal blanking period including a horizontal synchronization signal for synchronization when drawing an image. This is the added period, expressed in units of pixels. In other words, the number of pixels in the horizontal period includes the number of pixels corresponding to the horizontal blanking period, and thus needs to be set larger than the number of pixels in the horizontal direction in the image related to the image signal.
Also, the vertical period is the addition of the output period of the image signal based on the image data for one frame of pixels in the vertical direction and the vertical blanking period that includes a vertical synchronization signal for synchronization when drawing the image. The number of lines is a unit. In other words, the number of lines in the vertical cycle includes the number of lines corresponding to the vertical blanking period, and therefore needs to be set larger than the number of lines in the vertical direction in the image related to the image signal.
Note that the horizontal period, vertical period, and image resolution in the GPU 43 are set by the control means 47 described later.

For example, if the horizontal period is specified as 998 pixels and the vertical period is specified as 618 lines, the dot clock of the GPU 43 is about 37 MHz, and the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is about 60 Hz. In this case, the resolution of the image generated by the GPU 43 can be specified as 800 × 600.
On the other hand, if the horizontal period is specified as 1408 pixels and the vertical period is specified as 989 lines, the dot clock of the GP 43 is approximately 37 MHz, so the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is approximately 26.7 Hz. . In this case, the resolution of the image generated by the GPU 43 can be specified as 1280 × 960.
That is, when the dot clock of the GPU 43 is the same, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 becomes slower as the resolution of the image generated by the GPU 43 increases.

The scaler 45 as the resolution adjusting unit adjusts the resolution of the image related to the input image signal and outputs the adjusted image to the display unit 41. Specifically, the scaler 45 stores an image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 by virtually drawing it in the frame buffer 46 under the control of the control unit 47. That is, the frame buffer 46 as a drawing storage unit virtually draws and stores an image generated by the GPU 43. Then, the scaler 45 adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the frame buffer 46, generates an image signal based on the image whose resolution has been adjusted, and outputs the image signal to the display means 41.
Similarly to the GPU 43, the scaler 45 includes a crystal resonator (not shown) and outputs an image signal in accordance with a dot clock based on the output of the crystal resonator. In the present embodiment, the dot clock of the scaler 45 is approximately 83.25 MHz. The refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler 45 is determined by the dot clock and the horizontal and vertical periods of the image signal.

  For example, as described above, when the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43 is specified as 998 pixels, the vertical period is specified as 618 lines, and the resolution of the image is specified as 800 × 600, the scaler 45 is connected to the dot clock of the GPU 43. The image having the resolution of 800 × 600 is virtually drawn in the frame buffer 46 in synchronization with the horizontal and vertical synchronization signals included in the image signal output from the GPU 43 and stored. Then, the resolution of the image stored in the frame buffer 46 is adjusted to the same resolution as that of the display area in the display means 41, that is, a resolution of 1280 × 960, and an image signal based on the image whose resolution is adjusted is generated. To the display means 41.

Here, for example, if the horizontal period is designated as 1408 pixels and the vertical period is designated as 989 lines, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler 45 is approximately 60 Hz. In this case, the resolution of the image adjusted by the scaler 45 can be designated as 1280 × 960 which is the same as the resolution of the display area in the display unit 41.
Note that the horizontal period, vertical period, and image resolution in the scaler 45 are set by the control means 47 described later. In this embodiment, the control means 47 designates the horizontal period of the image signal output from the scaler 45 as 1408 pixels and the vertical period as 989 lines as described above, and sets the resolution of the image adjusted by the scaler 45 to 1280. Specify x960.

  The control unit 47 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like (not shown), and controls the GPU 43 and the scaler 45, and also controls the entire image display device 4. The background image transfer unit 471 and window display image transfer Unit 472 and a display control unit 473. The memory stores an image display program that causes the image display device 4 to execute an image display process described later.

  The background image transfer unit 471 causes the GPU 43 to generate an overall background image based on the overall background image data stored in the CGROM 42 and causes the scaler 45 to transfer the overall background image. Specifically, the background image transfer unit 471 designates the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43 as 1408 pixels, the vertical period as 989 lines, and designates the resolution of the image generated by the GPU 43 as 1280 × 960. . Then, the background image transfer unit 471 causes the GPU 43 to generate an overall background image having the same resolution as 1280 × 960, which is the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit 41, and causes the entire background image to be transferred to the scaler 45. That is, the background image transfer unit 471 causes the GPU 43 to generate an overall background image having a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit 41. In this case, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is approximately 26.7 Hz as described above.

  The window display image transfer unit 472 causes the GPU 43 to generate a window display image based on the window display image data stored in the CGROM 42 and transfers the window display image to the scaler 45. Specifically, the window display image transfer unit 472 specifies the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43 as 998 pixels, the vertical period as 618 lines, and specifies the resolution of the image generated by the GPU 43 as 800 × 600. To do. Then, the window display image transfer unit 472 causes the GPU 43 to generate a window display image having a resolution of 800 × 600 smaller than the resolution of the display area of the display unit 41 1280 × 960, and the generated window display image to the scaler. 45. In this case, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is approximately 60 Hz as described above.

The display control unit 473 controls the output of the image stored in the frame buffer 46 by the scaler 45.
Specifically, when the entire background image is transferred from the GPU 43 to the scaler 45 under the control of the background image transfer unit 471, the display control unit 473 displays the image stored in the frame buffer 46 in the scaler 45. Stop output. In this case, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is approximately 26.7 Hz as described above, and the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler 45 is as described above. This is because the scaler 45 cannot output a normal image signal to the display means 41 because the refresh rate of the image output from the GPU 43 and the scaler 45 is different. In addition, the display means 41 will display a disordered image, when displaying the image based on the abnormal image signal output from the scaler 45 in a display area.

When the window display image is transferred from the GPU 43 to the scaler 45 under the control of the window display image transfer unit 472, the display control unit 473 outputs the image stored in the frame buffer 46 to the scaler 45. Let it begin. In this case, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43 is approximately 60 Hz, which is the same as the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the scaler 45 as described above. This is because the scaler 45 can output a normal image signal to the display means 41 because the refresh rate of the output image is the same.
When an image signal is output from the scaler 45 to the display unit 41 under the control of the display control unit 473, the display unit 41 displays an image based on the image signal output from the scaler 45 in a predetermined display area. .

Next, an image display method by the image display device 4 of the pachinko machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing image display processing by the image display device 4. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image virtually drawn in the frame buffer 46.
When a predetermined control command output from the main control device 3 is input, the image display device 4 displays an effect pattern animation or the like according to an image display program stored in a memory (not shown) of the control means 47. An image display process for displaying an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of the window display image is executed.

When the image display process is executed, first, the display control unit 473 causes the scaler 45 to stop outputting the image signal based on the image stored in the frame buffer 46 (step S1).
When image output by the scaler 45 is stopped, the background image transfer unit 471 designates the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43 as 1408 pixels and the vertical period as 989 lines, and the image generated by the GPU 43 is output. The resolution is designated as 1280 × 960 (step S2).
Next, the background image transfer unit 471 causes the GPU 43 to generate an overall background image B1 having the same resolution as the resolution of the display area of the display unit 41 based on the overall background image data stored in the CGROM 42. At the same time, the entire background image B1 is transferred to the scaler 45 (step S3).

When the entire background image B1 is transferred from the GPU 43, the scaler 45 converts the entire background image B1 into the horizontal clock included in the dot clock of the GPU 43 and the image signal output from the GPU 43, as shown in FIG. The image is stored by being virtually drawn in the frame buffer 46 in synchronization with the synchronization signal and the vertical synchronization signal (step S4).
When the entire background image B1 is stored in the frame buffer 46, the window display image transfer unit 472 designates the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43 as 998 pixels and the vertical period as 618 lines, and is generated by the GPU 43. The resolution of the image to be recorded is specified as 800 × 600 (step S5).
Next, the window display image transfer unit 472 causes the GPU 43 to display a window having a resolution of 800 × 600, which is smaller than 1280 × 960, which is the resolution of the display area of the display unit 41, based on the window display image data stored in the CGROM 42. A display image W1 is generated and the window display image W1 is transferred to the scaler 45 (step S6).

When the window display image W1 is transferred from the GPU 43, the scaler 45 synchronizes the window display image W1 with the dot clock of the GPU 43 and the horizontal synchronization signal and the vertical synchronization signal included in the image signal output from the GPU 43. Then, it is stored by virtually drawing in the frame buffer 46 (step S7). At this time, the window display image W1 is overwritten at a predetermined position in the entire background image B1 stored in the frame buffer 46. That is, the entire background image B1 and the window display image W1 are synthesized and stored in the frame buffer 46 as shown in FIG.
When the window display image W1 is stored in the frame buffer 46, the display control unit 473 causes the scaler 45 to start outputting an image signal based on the image stored in the frame buffer 46 (step S8). At this time, the resolution of the composite image of the entire background image B1 and the window display image W1 stored in the frame buffer 46 is 1280 × 960, which is the same as the resolution of the display area in the display means 41. The image signal based on the image stored in the frame buffer 46 is output without adjusting the above.

When the scaler 45 outputs an image signal based on image data for one frame, the control unit 47 determines whether or not to update the window display image W1 (step S9). If it is determined that the window display image W1 is to be updated (step S9: Y), the control unit 47 executes steps S6 to S9 again.
On the other hand, when it is determined not to update the window display image W1 (step S9: N), the control unit 47 determines whether or not to update the entire background image B1 (step S10). When it is determined to update the entire background image B1 (step S10: Y), the control unit 47 executes steps S1 to S10 again. When it is determined not to update the entire background image B1 (step S10: N), the control unit 47 ends the image display process.
Through steps S1 to S10 as described above, the image display device 4 can display the animation of the effect pattern as the window display image W1, and can display an arbitrary entire background image B1 on the outer periphery of the window display image W1. .

The pachinko machine 1 according to the present embodiment has the following effects.
(1) Since the control unit 47 includes the background image transfer unit 471, the window display image transfer unit 472, and the display control unit 473, the image signal based on the entire background image B1 and the image signal based on the window display image W1 Can be divided in time and transferred to the scaler 45 separately. Therefore, the image display device 4 can display an arbitrary entire background image B1 on the outer periphery of the window display image W1 with an inexpensive configuration including one GPU 43 and a scaler 45 having one system of input.

(2) Since the background image transfer unit 471 causes the GPU 43 to generate the entire background image B1 having a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit 41, the scaler 45 transfers the generated entire background image in a batch. be able to. The display control unit 473 causes the scaler 45 to stop outputting the image signal based on the image stored in the frame buffer 46 when the entire background image B1 is transferred by the background image transfer unit 471. 41 can display only a normal image without displaying a distorted image.
(3) If the same image is stored in the frame buffer 46 for a long time, the data related to the stored image may be damaged due to the influence of electrostatic noise or the like. It is desirable to update the image every predetermined time. According to the present embodiment, since the control unit 47 executes step S10, the image stored in the frame buffer 46 can be updated every predetermined time.

[Second Embodiment]
A pachinko machine 1A according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the following description, parts that have already been described are assigned the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the pachinko machine 1A.
The image display device 4 constituting the pachinko machine 1 according to the first embodiment includes a background image transfer unit 471, and the background image transfer unit 471 is based on the entire background image data stored in the CGROM 42. The entire background image B1 having the same resolution as that of the display area in FIG. 5 is generated by the GPU 43, and the entire background image B1 is transferred to the scaler 45. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the image display device 4A constituting the pachinko machine 1A according to the present embodiment includes a background image division transfer unit 474. The background image division transfer unit 474 is connected to the GPU 43A by the CGROM 42A. Is generated in such a manner that a divided background image in which the entire background image B1 is divided into a plurality of parts is generated and this divided background image is sequentially transferred to the scaler 45A.

  In the CGROM 42A, divided background image data obtained by dividing the entire background image data for displaying the entire background image having the same resolution as the entire display area in the display unit 41 and an image in a part of the display area in the display unit 41 are displayed. Window display image data for window display is stored. That is, the divided background image data is 640 × 480 resolution image data obtained by dividing the 1280 × 960 background image data, which is the resolution of the display area in the display unit 41, into four.

  The background image division transfer unit 474 causes the GPU 43A to generate a divided background image based on the divided background image data stored in the CGROM 42A, and sequentially transfers the divided background image to the scaler 45A. Specifically, the background image division transfer unit 474 specifies the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43A as 1236 pixels, the vertical period as 498 lines, and specifies the resolution of the image generated by the GPU 43A as 640 × 480. To do. The background image division transfer unit 474 causes the GPU 43 to generate a divided background image having a resolution of 640 × 480 obtained by dividing the entire background image of 1280 × 960, which is the resolution of the display area in the display unit 41, and The divided background images are sequentially transferred to the scaler 45A. In this case, the refresh rate of the image related to the image signal output from the GPU 43A is approximately 60 Hz.

  The scaler 45A adjusts the resolution of the image related to the input image signal and outputs it to the display means 41. Specifically, since the divided background image obtained by dividing the entire background image B1 into four is sequentially transferred from the GPU 43A, the scaler 45A stores these divided background images by virtually drawing them sequentially in the frame buffer 46. At this time, a divided background image having a resolution of 640 × 480 is synthesized on the frame buffer 46. That is, the scaler 45A stores the 1280 × 960 overall background image B1 before being divided into four by virtually rendering it in the frame buffer 46. Then, the scaler 45A adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the frame buffer 46, generates an image signal based on the image whose resolution has been adjusted, and outputs the image signal to the display means 41.

Next, an image display method by the image display device 4A of the pachinko machine 1A will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing image display processing by the image display device 4A. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image virtually drawn in the frame buffer 46.
When a predetermined control command output from the main control device 3 is input, the image display device 4A displays the animation of the effect pattern as a window display image and displays an arbitrary background image on the outer periphery of the window display image. The image display process to be executed is executed.
When the image display process is executed, first, the display control unit 473 causes the scaler 45A to stop outputting the image signal based on the image stored in the frame buffer 46 (step S1).

When image output by the scaler 45A is stopped, the background image division transfer unit 474 designates the horizontal period of the image signal output from the GPU 43A as 1236 pixels and the vertical period as 498 lines, and the image generated by the GPU 43A. Is designated as 640 × 480 (step S22).
Next, the background image division transfer unit 474 causes the GPU 43A to generate divided background images B21 to B24 based on the divided background image data stored in the CGROM 42A, and sequentially transfers these divided background images B21 to B24 to the scaler 45A. (Step S23).

When the divided background images B21 to B24 are transferred from the GPU 43A, the scaler 45A converts the divided background images B21 to B24 into the dot clock of the GPU 43A and the horizontal synchronization signal and the vertical synchronization included in the image signal output from the GPU 43A. In synchronization with the signal, the image is stored in the frame buffer 46 by virtually drawing (step S24). At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the divided background images B21 to B24 having a resolution of 640 × 480 are sequentially synthesized on the frame buffer 46.
Specifically, the background image division transfer unit 474 first causes the GPU 43A to generate the upper left divided background image B21 based on the divided background image data located at the upper left of the entire background image B1 stored in the CGROM 42A, and this upper left division. The background image B21 is transferred to the scaler 45A. Then, the scaler 45A stores the upper left divided background image B21 by virtually drawing it at the upper left position in the frame buffer 46 (FIG. 6A).

Next, the background image division transfer unit 474 causes the GPU 43A to generate the upper right divided background image B22 based on the divided background image data located at the upper right of the entire background image B1 stored in the CGROM 42A, and this upper right divided background image B22. Are transferred to the scaler 45A. The scaler 45A stores the upper right divided background image B22 by virtually drawing it at the upper right position in the frame buffer 46 (FIG. 6B).
Then, the background image division transfer unit 474 sequentially transfers the lower left divided background image B23 and the lower right divided background image B24 to the scaler 45A. The scaler 45A converts the lower left divided background image B23 and the lower right divided background image B24 into the frame. It is stored by virtually drawing at the lower left position and the lower right position in the buffer 46 (FIG. 6C, FIG. 6D).

When the divided background images B21 to B24 are stored in the frame buffer 46, the image display device 4 executes steps S5 to S9 as in the first embodiment.
When it is determined in step S9 that the window display image W1 is not updated (step S9: N), the control unit 47 determines whether or not to update the divided background images B21 to B24 (step S210). ). If it is determined that the divided background images B21 to B24 are to be updated (step S210: Y), the control unit 47 executes steps S1 to S210 again. When it is determined that the divided background images B21 to B24 are not updated (step S210: N), the control unit 47A ends the image display process.

In this embodiment as well, the same operations and effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained, and the following operations and effects can be achieved.
That is, since the divided background image data obtained by dividing the entire background image data into four parts is stored in advance in the CGROM 42A, the storage area of the CGROM 42A is more effective than when large background image data that is not divided is stored. Can be used.

[Modification of Embodiment]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within a scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.
In each of the above embodiments, the resolution of the composite image of the entire background image B1 and the window display image W1 stored in the frame buffer 46 is 1280 × 960, which is the same as the resolution of the display area in the display means 41. Output an image signal based on the image stored in the frame buffer 46 without adjusting the resolution. On the other hand, for example, a background image having a resolution smaller than the resolution of the display area in the display unit may be generated by the image generation unit, and the resolution adjustment unit may be adjusted to increase the resolution of the background image. In this case, the window display image is enlarged at the same ratio as the enlargement ratio of the background image. Therefore, for example, when the resolution of the display area in the display means is 1280 × 960 and the resolution of the background image is 1024 × 768, the background image is enlarged 1.25 times by the resolution adjustment means. If the resolution of the window display image is 640 × 480, a window display image with a resolution of 800 × 600 is displayed in the display area of the display means.

In each of the embodiments described above, when the background image is transferred from the GPU 43 to the scaler 45, the display control unit 473 causes the scalers 45 and 45A to stop outputting the image stored in the frame buffer 46. For example, the monochrome image may be output to the resolution adjusting unit. Furthermore, the display control unit is stored in the drawing storage unit when the time for transferring the background image by the image generation unit is short and the image displayed in the display area of the display unit is not disturbed. It is not necessary to stop the output of the recorded image.
In the second embodiment, the divided background image data obtained by dividing the entire background image data for displaying the entire background image having the same resolution as the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit 41 is stored in the CGROM 42A. For example, 16 divided background image data may be stored. In short, the divided background image data obtained by dividing the background image data into a plurality of portions may be stored in advance in the image data storage means.

In the second embodiment, the background image division transfer unit 474 causes the GPU 43A to generate divided background images B21 to B24 based on the divided background image data stored in the CGROM 42A, and also scales these divided background images B21 to B24. The data was sequentially transferred to 45A. On the other hand, for example, the divided background image may be generated by dividing the background image data stored in the image data storage unit into a plurality of parts and capturing the image.
In the above embodiment, the image display device 4 is used in the pachinko machine 1, but may be used in other gaming machines such as a pachislot machine, and may be used in a portable device, an audio device, and the like. . Further, the present invention may be applied to an image display device such as a liquid crystal television.

  The present invention can be used for an image display device, and in particular, can be suitably used for an image display device used for a gaming machine.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a pachinko machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing image display processing by the image display device in the embodiment. The figure which shows the image virtually drawn by the frame buffer in the said embodiment. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the pachinko machine which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing image display processing by the image display device in the embodiment. The figure which shows the image virtually drawn by the frame buffer in the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A ... Pachinko machine (game machine), 4, 4A ... Image display device, 41 ... Display means, 42, 42A ... CGROM (image data storage means), 43, 43A ... GPU (image generation means), 45, 45A ... Scaler (resolution adjustment means), 46 ... Frame buffer (drawing storage section), 47, 47A ... Control means, 471 ... Background image transfer section, 472 ... Window display image transfer section, 473 ... Display control section, 474 ... Background Image division transfer unit (background image transfer unit), S23, S3 ... background image transfer step, S6 ... window display image transfer step, S8 ... display control step.

Claims (8)

Display means for displaying an image, image data storage means for storing image data for display, image generation means for generating an image based on the image data stored in the image data storage means, and the image generation means A drawing storage unit that virtually draws and stores the generated image, adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the drawing storage unit, and outputs the resolution to the display unit; and An image display device comprising image generation means and control means for controlling the resolution adjustment means,
The image data storage means stores background image data for displaying a background image in a display area in the display means, and window display image data for displaying an image in a part of the display area,
The control means includes
A background image transfer unit that causes the image generation unit to generate a background image based on the background image data and transfers the background image to the resolution adjustment unit;
A window display image transfer unit that causes the image generation unit to generate a window display image based on the window display image data and to transfer the window display image to the resolution adjustment unit;
An image display apparatus comprising: a display control unit that controls output of an image stored in the drawing storage unit by the resolution adjusting unit. The image display device according to claim 1,
The background image transfer unit causes the image generation unit to generate an overall background image having a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the entire display area in the display unit, and causes the entire image to be transferred to the resolution adjustment unit. An image display device. The image display device according to claim 1,
The background image transfer unit causes the image generation unit to generate a divided background image obtained by dividing the background image and transfers the divided background image to the resolution adjustment unit. The image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The display control unit causes the resolution adjustment unit to stop outputting the image stored in the drawing storage unit when the background image is transferred by the image generation unit. .   A gaming machine comprising the image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Display means for displaying an image, image data storage means for storing image data for display, image generation means for generating an image based on the image data stored in the image data storage means, and the image generation means A drawing storage unit that virtually draws and stores the generated image, adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the drawing storage unit, and outputs the resolution to the display unit; and An image display method used for an image display device comprising an image generation means and a control means for controlling the resolution adjustment means,
The control means is
A background image transfer step of generating a background image based on background image data for displaying a background image in a display area in the display means, and transferring the background image to the resolution adjustment means;
A window display image transfer step of generating a window display image based on window display image data for displaying an image in a part of the display area and transferring the window display image to the resolution adjustment unit;
A display control step of controlling output of an image stored in the drawing storage unit by the resolution adjusting unit. Display means for displaying an image, image data storage means for storing image data for display, image generation means for generating an image based on the image data stored in the image data storage means, and the image generation means A drawing storage unit that virtually draws and stores the generated image, adjusts the resolution of the image stored in the drawing storage unit, and outputs the resolution to the display unit; and An image display program used for an image display device comprising an image generation means and a control means for controlling the resolution adjustment means,
A background image transfer step of causing the image generation means to generate a background image based on background image data for displaying a background image in a display area in the display means, and transferring the background image to the resolution adjustment means;
A window display image transfer step of causing the image generation means to generate a window display image based on window display image data for displaying an image in a part of the display area, and transferring the window display image to the resolution adjustment means; ,
An image display program for causing the control means to execute a display control step for controlling output of an image stored in the drawing storage unit by the resolution adjusting means.   8. A recording medium on which the image display program according to claim 7 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.

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